


Nowhere I Would Rather Be

by Lukutoukka



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Multi, liberal use of social media, the Kent/Swoops part of it at least
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 16:14:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19445008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lukutoukka/pseuds/Lukutoukka
Summary: Tater gets traded to Vegas. It turns out pretty good.





	Nowhere I Would Rather Be

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FaiaSakura](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaiaSakura/gifts).



> Dear Faia, I hope you like it! :)
> 
> As always at this point, my thanks go to Denois and Draskireis for the beta and support <3 Mods of the Birthday Bash, thank you, for organizing this again! Y'all did a great job.

Ben Cooper @avegasjournalist   
_ Source says @jondavis has been traded. Details to follow. _

Ben Cooper @avegasjournalist   
_ Jon Davis will join the @PVFalcs, no word yet on what Vegas gets out of the deal _

Ben Cooper @avegasjournalist   
_ Davis trade details: Davis to Providence, in return the Aces get a third round pick next year, and Mashkov. Providence retains $1mil of Mashkov’s salary. _

Vegas Rocks @aces4eva   
reply to @avegasjournalist   
_ how does this trade make sense? wyh would you trade Day NOW, two days before the season opener? why would you trade Day at all? I know its Mashkov, retained salary AND a 3rd round pick for Day, but thats still a STEAL for the Falcs… _

***

Swoops wakes up to Kent’s ringtone and because a phone call at this early in the morning on an off day usually means a trade, a baby or an accident, he makes himself listen with half an ear to Kent’s side of the conversation –

“Parson.” – “Where to?” – “Who’d we get in return?” – “Ma– yes. Yessir.” – “You too.”

Trade then.

Kent sat up, feet firmly planted on the floor, because that’s what he does when he takes a call in bed, almost no matter what the hour, and when he puts the phone down now, he let’s it dangle beneath his thighs, staring down at the ground. Swoops rolls closer, wraps an arm around Kent’s waist and presses his forehead into Kent’s thigh. 

“Who’s leaving?” he mumbles, sighs as Kent twists his hands into his hair.

“Davis,” Kent says. “And good riddance. We get Mashkov and a third round pick in return.”

“Mashkov, huh? You need to call him now?”

“Yeah, I should do that real quick. You should back to sleep though, babe.”

“Mhmm,” Swoops says, and drifts off to Kent’s fingers tracing patterns on his scalp.

***

tatertot @mashkov7   
_ Thank you, Providence <3 _

Las Vegas Aces @vegasaces   
_ Welcome to Vegas, @mashkov7! _

tatertot @mashkov7   
reply to @vegasaces   
_ thank you! happy to be here. _

***

Alexei isn’t quite sure yet if he likes Vegas, but to be fair he hasn’t been here long yet, hasn’t seen anything yet, besides whatever was on his way between the airport and the practice facility – he’d been picked up by … someone from the staff, he isn’t quite sure who, who brought him to the rink, showed him a place to put his bags, the locker room and the hallway to the rink and left him to it. Alexei had changed, joined practice midway through and tried to fit into the system.

He’d stayed behind to have a quick chat with the trainers, so everyone else is already in the locker room, even the rookies with puck duty. Alexei just wants to get changed and get … a hotel room, probably, someone said something about setting him up somewhere, and even though he doesn’t remember who said that and when, he’s certain he’ll have somewhere, no problem. He stops short of the open door when Parson’s – Parse, he should use nicknames for his teammates, the same as everyone else on the team – voice carries out.

“Alright everyone, you know the deal with new teammates. Anyone willing and able to put Mashkov up in their guest room? Nicky, Rossy, you’ve got your hands full with the babies of course.”

Nicky, Alexei thinks, must be Nikita, the only other Russian on the team. His son had been born during the off season and there had been a number of pictures in the group chat. Cute child and having a Russian around would’ve been nice, but if he was being honest, Alexei was glad not to room with a baby.

“We have another room!” someone exclaims, but Alexei can’t put a face to the voice yet. Whoever said that sounded excited, at least.

“I’m not sure we can inflict your house on Alexei, even if a functioning adult would probably do you guys some good. I’d been actually hoping for one of the d-men?” There’s a longer pause, which Alexei interprets to mean that non-verbal communication is happening and then Kent says “Swoops?” and someone answers “Sure, why not, we have the guestroom.” and Alexei decides it’s maybe time to announce his presence.

***

Parse @kparson   
_ I can’t believe my cat… #traitorkitt _

Tatertot @mashkov7   
reply @kparson   
_ Kitt know what’s up _

***

Living with Alexei turns out to be very, very easy. Deceptively easy, maybe.

But despite the frankly horrendous schedule they have during the first weeks – they’re never longer at home than three days at a time – Alexei fits into their lives so easily, so seamlessly as if he’d always been there. 

Like in the mornings, when Kent is the first one up, starting the coffee machine, and Alexei stumbles in and gets started on the smoothie they all have with breakfast. 

Like when Kent gets some groceries and finds himself grabbing Alexei’s favourite brand of marmalade (“It is best in tea, Kenya!”) almost absentmindedly.

Like when Swoops and Alexei … bicker (there really is no other word for it) through preparing a meal – Kent always on salad duty, because no matter what he tries to prepare, it comes out too dry, undercooked or both.

Like when Alexei plays with Kitt until she’s exhausted and then takes a nap right along with her, both of them spread out on the sectional, taking up as much space as they can.

The point is… Kent doesn’t want Alexei to leave. At all. And  _ maybe _ grabbing the apartment dossiers that Alexei left on the kitchen table and making a run for it when no one’s even around to stop him is a bit much, but whatever.

“I don’t want him to leave,” Kent says without preamble, once he’s found Swoops on the balcony.

Swoops looks up from his book. “Who’s leaving? What?”

“Alexei,” Kent says and waves the dossiers around to further make his point. “He’s looking for somewhere else to stay. His own place. Like, of course he does, this was like… we didn’t offer a forever solution, did we now? This wasn’t supposed to be a permanent solution, was it?”

“You want him to stay?” Swoops asks. He puts his book down and sits up properly. Kent pulls the other lounger a little closer and sits down too, the papers still in his hands.

“Yeah, I… I think I’d like to have him here, like, permanent-ish.”

***

tatertot @mashkov7   
_ @swooops @kparson BEST!! _

***

Alexei stops short when he walks into the living space. The lights are dimmed, there’s flowers on the table with the food and candles. 

“Sorry, I interrupt date night?” is all he can think of saying. It’s a reasonable conclusion, even if Kent and Swoops had always announced date nights in the past well in advance. But there’s something…

“No,” Kent says. “it’s uh… for you too.” He’s wearing a dress shirt and his nice jeans, and he looks a little nervous.

Alexei takes another look at the table. It’s set for three.

“Oh,” Alexei says. “I go change then.”

“You don’t have to,” Swoops says, “We don’t mind either way.” He looks like he means it.

“I want to,” Alexei assures them.

***

Swoops @swooops   
_ spoiled… <3 _ _  
_ _ [pic of Alexei and Kitt, napping together on a couch] _

Las Vegas Aces retweeted @swooops   
_ Kitt or Tater?? _

Parse @kparson   
reply to @vegasaces   
_ yes _


End file.
